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Congratulations to the 15 Military to Medicine participants who started work this month!

Inova Health System, our program partner in Northern Virginia, hired seven in roles ranging from Computer Physician Order Entry (CPOE) trainer, a Registered Nurse, a Radiology Tech, and Medical Administrator. The remaining eight were hired across the country in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, New York and Washington, DC. Among that group were Physicians, Healthcare Administration positions and Registration Clerks. Military to Medicine helps members from the military family find healthcare work. Our August hires represented transitioning service members, war wounded, veterans, National Guard and Reserve, as well as military spouses who are affiliated with the following military bases: Andrews, Bolling, Fort Belvoir, Fort Benning, Fort Drum, Fort Gordon, Fort Huachuca, Fort Lee, Maxwell-Gunter, Quantico and Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
Each month Military to Medicine averages about 10 new hires from our program. We wanted to share the good news and plan to share more regularly. Military to Medicine is committed to helping military families find careers in healthcare. If you are looking to start a healthcare career, Military to Medicine offers training that leads to entry-level healthcare positions. If you have healthcare experience, post your resume in our Career Center that connects you to a job board full of current, open healthcare positions across the country. If you are a military spouse or member and have questions, check out our Web site or email our Customer Support team or call at 703.208.5974.
If you are an Organization, Installation or Military Services Program, or business please e-mail communityservices@militarytomedicine.org or you may also call or e-mail Kristina Saul her information is below.

Last week, Military to Medicine’s Executive Director Daniel Nichols issued a membership challenge to his outreach team. “Who could drive the most members to the Military to Medicine social community on Ning – the outreach team or him?”

With June 30 as the deadline the two-person outreach team, military spouses working from their homes in Texas and Georgia, were more than happy to accept the challenge. Armed with little more than laptops, the Internet and their personal connections gained from a combined 40 years as military spouses, Outreach Specialists Kristina Saul and Colleen Saffron are up to the test, but need your help.

“My goal every day is the same, spread the word to military spouses, war wounded and their caregivers, Veterans, National Guard, Reserve and their spouses as well as transitioning service members about the opportunities Military to Medicine offers ,” Saul said. Mother to a special needs child and a Navy husband she is geographically separated from, Saul knows personally the unique challenges the military spouse faces in finding a good job and maintaining it despite frequent moves and deployment schedules. “’The boss’ challenge just fired me up to make sure we showed him who had the most “reach,” she said.

Military to Medicine, a not for profit national military service organization, provides online healthcare training and career opportunities from a growing network of healthcare employer partners. Whether you are new to healthcare or you have prior healthcare experience, Military to Medicine can help you get on a path to employment. Checking out the course catalog or the job board located on its Web site is a great first step.

Nichols, a Chaplain in the Navy Reserve, has seen firsthand how deployment and service impact military families and their career options. He first started the Military to Medicine program as a recruitment initiative for Inova Health System in Falls Church, VA, in 2008. Following the success Inova experienced, in April 2010 Inova launched the Military to Medicine program nationally. The program simply seeks to train and place talent found from within the extended military family into healthcare positions nationwide. In brief – the program is changing the lives of military families nationwide. About the challenge with his outreach team, Nichols simply stated, “Game on!”

For Saul, Saffron and Nichols, pride is on the line. For folks who join the community, there’s an iPad at stake! Once you join the social community on Ning, members have the opportunity to participate in the “Photograph the Military to Medicine Logo” competition where the winner will receive an iPad. To learn more about the competition, you need to go to the Ning site.
“I just love to win,” stated Saffron. “I firmly believe if you can’t join them – then beat them!” she said as she went right to work at a local outreach event telling military spouses about Military to Medicine.

Military to Medicine is a program of Inova Health System. Inova Health System is a not-for-profit healthcare system based in Northern Virginia that consists of hospitals and other health services, including emergency- and urgent-care centers, home care, nursing homes, mental health and blood donor services, and wellness classes. Governed by a voluntary board of community members, Inova’s mission is to improve the health of the diverse community it serves through excellence in patient care, education and research. Inova provides a healthy environment for its patients, families, visitors, staff and physicians by prohibiting tobacco use on its campuses.

· Executive Director at Military to Medicine (Inova Health System)
· Lieutenant at US Navy Reserve

Having served in the U.S. Navy Reserve as a Chaplain and deployed in support of OIF in 2003, and having served in the U.S. Dept. of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service, he transitioned to a recruiting and technology role at Inova Health System, which has supported him in launching a new national military family service organization called: Military to Medicine.

Colleen Saffron is the wife of not only an active duty soldier but also a soldier who was severely wounded in combat, during his deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom on May 5, 2004.

She is intimately acquainted with the unique challenges the families of the war wounded are facing. She has, since the date of her husband’s injury, managed to care for him and her 3 children while also completing her online education to graduate with honors.

Kristina Saul :

· Outreach Specialist Military to Medicine
· Prior- National Outreach Program Manager for Operation Life Transformed

Kristina is the wife of a Chief of the US Naval Reserve Force- Full Time Support with 25 years of Service. They have been a Geographical Military Family, living apart since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Along with her Volunteer duties as a 3 Time Certified Navy Family Ombudsman and Outreach Specialist for M2M. She is the mother of 2 young children, one with Special Needs.
Kristina is also a 2 time cancer survivor who will be celebrating being 1 year cancer free December of 2010.

I found this on a blog site today- To all my sister spouses- thank you for what you do!!

The Military Spouse
~author unknown~
There he stands in camouflage….yet he cannot hide from you.
You can pick him out in a crowd, and can eye his stride among a formation.
There he goes, away from you again, off to do his part and be his best,
leaving you in his wake – never “behind” yet always longing for his return.
There you are, amidst boxes and paper and confusion, creating a home, designing a household, transforming a building into a loving, nurturing, comfortable environment. Memories will be made here. Events will be celebrated. Children will be born, graduate, grow, change. Your family will evolve. Your love will increase. Your marriage will improve. And you will then be asked to leave it all…again.
There are those who do not understand… Who cannot comprehend, what it takes to fulfill your role, to fill your shoes, to be all that you need to be.
They marvel at times.Criticize at others.Seldom appreciate.Cannot imagine.
There are those moments, when you are where they are. When you marvel, criticize, lack comprehension, and are unable to muster understanding. And then he appears at the door, or on the phone, or through a rumpled letter addressed to “my love” and suddenly there is comprehension, and understanding, affirmation and conviction.
For by his presence, through his voice, in his message you KNOW that you’ve been beckoned to a noble calling, when asked to be a military spouse.
Invited to support a soldier who allows freedom, who guards democracy, who instills leadership. And in your role you see a slice of life that few others have the privilege to experience…
– flags appear more brilliant to you…- parades draw out more emotion for you…
– a patriotic song is a musical message played just for you…
– a hand-over-the-heart is as stirring as an embrace for you…
– a parting kiss can hold you for months…
– a welcome-back embrace can fill you up from lonely months…
– a gravemarker is a stark reminder of the meaning of devotion…
– a tear shared is a stark statement on the meaning of sacrifice…
– a duffle bag on a baggage claim gives you pause and connection…
– an eagle’s soar gives you inspiration.There you are…The military spouse.
The one asked to be strong.The one willing to belong.
The one who is often required to do it all.
The very one who is privileged to stand beside a true American – day in and day out.
How God has blessed us.How He has rewarded us.
There are military spouses around the world, beside soldiers, airmen, marines and sailors. They share a bond, a unity and a duty- to be there, always for their hero.
There.Said.Done.Deserved.There are no better…anywhere.

Last month, you were introduced to Military to Medicine, a program that provides online healthcare training and employment opportunities for military spouses, wounded warriors and their caregivers, Veterans, National Guard, Reserve and their spouses, and service members transitioning to civilian employment.

Today, Military to Medicine is excited to tell you that our new Web site – http://www.militarytomedicine.org – is up and running! On the site visitors can learn more about Military to Medicine, apply for courses online or even join the Talent Exchange, our social networking site – created especially for the military community that is interested in a healthcare career. As students who have experienced the online learning environment, we encourage you to join our network and stay connected to the instructors and contacts you have made. The link is directly on the home page under the word Ning.

To participate:

1. Visit http://www.militarytomedicine.org
2. Link to the social network found on the word Ning on the home page.
3. Sign up for Military to Medicine’s Talent Exchange social network in the top right corner of the Ning site.

With your participation, Military to Medicine’s Talent Exchange social networking site will be the one stop source for the military community to connect with other healthcare students, professionals, recruiters and healthcare employers. If you have any questions about Military to Medicine, please let us know. We look forward to hearing from you.

Lastly, M2M is expanding our attendance at military events to include, yellow ribbon re-integration programs, career fairs, FRG meetings, Pre-deployment briefs, OMBUDSMAN conferences, spouse nights, TAPS, indoctrinations and much more.
Please feel free to contact the following team member below for any questions.

Operation Life Transformed (OLT) has joined forces with Inova Health System to form Military to Medicine, a program that provides online healthcare training and employment opportunities for military spouses, wounded warriors and their caregivers, Veterans, National Guard, Reserve and their spouses, and service members transitioning to civilian employment.

OLT has been working cooperatively on the pilot Military to Medicine program since February 2009. Our two organizations share a similar military family mission and found that working together the training and outreach opportunities were strengthened and military families were better served. Today, Military to Medicine provides healthcare training and placement opportunities in portable healthcare careers that readily “fit” the military lifestyle.

Military to Medicine has seen tremendous growth and support from the military community including the Department of Defense, The Department of Labor and the U.S. Army and the Army Spouse Employment Partnership. It also has received support from other healthcare systems including the Cleveland Clinic, Sharp Healthcare, Wellstar Healthcare and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans’ Health Administration. As a not for profit organization, Military to Medicine has gained support from philanthropic entities like Cisco Systems Foundation, Elks Lodge, the Dallas and San Antonio TRIAD, and the Claude Moore Foundation.

Operation Life Transformed would like to thank you for your support in the past and we look forward to serving our military family communities under the new name Military to Medicine.

Please check out our new Web site at www.militarytomedicine.org and be sure to join our social networking site that is linked there, too. We look forward to hearing from you!

Hello everybody out there! Today is a lovely Tuesday, July 28, Day 37 out of our 50 days. We rode from Ludington to Mt. Pleasant today, which was 113 miles. I’m very happy to say we had kind of humid weather but good weather. It was warm but it wasn’t outrageous, in the 70s and 80s as we were riding. We had some nice tailwinds. We had some half smooth and half bumpy roads, but not bad. We had a few headwinds, but they were on the crossover roads, so that wasn’t too bad. I had a nice early start today. I was in the first grouping of the riders and rode with a man named Bill from Illinois and Ken, who is one of the newer riders who is only on a two-week portion of this trip. We stuck together the whole 113 miles and we had a lot of fun. We pushed each other and did really well. We were able to ride really strong today, I’m happy to say.

Just to give you a few highlights that were fun and for me to remember, our first SAG stop was at 28 miles on a dirt lot. It was my least favorite SAG stop of the whole entire trip. It had a lot of black flies and gnats surrounding us, and I didn’t stay there long, I hurried up and got done and got out of there. I started off out of the SAG a little bit more tired than usual and kind of gained as I went through. We got to the second SAG stop, which was at 64 miles, and that was a good stop. I was able to use the restroom there and get some good drinks and get kind of reenergized.

Just as we left that stop, we went past a little lemonade stand with Joey and his sister, who I got a picture of. The mother was there, kind of in the doorway watching out for the kids, giving everybody their drinks. We stopped to get some Kool-Aid lemonade from them, which was really fun, they were really happy. I can remember my kids doing lemonade stands at Cape Cod and people stopping and how exciting it was. But our lemonade was the real lemonade, we used to do the water with the squeezed lemons with a little bit of sugar in it, not like the way we did it for the beach. We used to just squeeze lemon in our water, which is my famous lemon water with no sugar. My kids got used to that and loved it every summer, it was their favorite drink, very refreshing. We used to put it in this one jug and that was the only thing I put in that jug. It was like years and years and years of just lemon water in that jug, and there was something magical about that lemon water when we’d drink it at the beach. I still have it, and we still do it. But it was fun to stop. I always try to stop at lemonade stands, that’s one of the things you just got to do in life, got to stop at the lemonade stands. That was really fun.

We had some nice rolling acres from the second stop to the third SAG stop, which was at 82 miles. Some of the jokes and the funny things that happened, every time we’d see a hill up ahead or something that looked like we had to climb, I would say that it’s a piece of cake, Ken would say that it’s a piece of pie, and Bill would say it’s la-la. The la-la trip! So we would approach a hill and I’d say, “Piece of cake, piece of cake.” And we’d get into the la-la and the piece of pie and we would just climb up as fast as we could, go-go-go-go-go, and pretend like we were on our horses, “Come on, yee haw, get going and get up that hill!” We just pushed ourselves every hill so we could just get up and go. As my daughter gave me my own wise advice and reminded me, it’s not getting to the top, it’s getting to the other side and moving forward, that’s what we have to do in life a lot. We never really get to the top, because if you get to the top, where do you go from there? My attitude, I taught her this, and taking my own advice, when you see that big hill, whether it looks looming, difficult, way too hard, you just got to say, all I have to do is get to the other side and keep moving forward. That’s a lot of life.

The other thing too, as we went through these towns that were really funny, everything said “big.” Big Jackson, Big Jackson Church. I saw some nice Scripture quotes out on the signs for the churches in the Big Jackson area. But it was Big Red City and big everything! Bill made a comment that made me crack up, and I laughed through the whole trip when he said, “Yeah, but you know, the cattails out here just aren’t that big in Michigan!” And for some reason that just cracked me up, the cattails weren’t that big out here in Michigan. I had a lot of fun with that one.

The other thing that I was thinking of, how I’m in the state of Michigan, and Joshua, this one’s for you, honey, my son Josh, my third child out of four. Joshua always wore a yellow Michigan hat for a long, long time. And it tattered and tore and he’d still wear that Michigan hat. I have a painting that I had done for him on his confirmation day of Joshua with his back, on bended knee, sneakers on the side with his yellow Michigan hat that he always wore, looking over a chasm out to a cross up on a hill. It was a vision I had that I had a friend paint. Jack Alexis painted it for me. I can’t remember the exact Scripture, but it was from Joshua about the commander said, “Fall on your knees, Joshua, you’re on holy ground.” That’s a real significant painting. Josh, I was thinking of you because of the state of Michigan and your hat, and just thinking, I’m in the state of Michigan, here I am, riding across America.

Another thing that was really important today, while I was riding along, about two-thirds through my ride today, for a long time I’ve been looking, looking as I’ve gone by all these John Deere dealerships and all these John Deere tractors that I’ve seen out on the farms, either with nobody in them or working the fields. But I’ve been looking to see when there would be an opportunity that I could see a tractor that the owner was around so that I could get on the tractor and get a picture of the tractor. And it happened today! There was this beautiful stone farmhouse with their barn in the back and the John Deere tractor was sitting right out in the front lawn. I saw the man outside and I said, “Do you mind if I stop and get a picture with your tractor?” And the man said, “Sure, go ahead.” So I stopped and I got a picture of me on the John Deere tractor today! So Mom, that one’s for you, and Sue and Danny, that one’s for you, and all my thanks and gratefulness to Mom, how you took care of us by working for John Deere, and Susie and Danny, all of you, how you retired from John Deere. Just my life has been blessed by the John Deere company, being able to be a child of someone who worked there. I’m just really grateful for that. So I got that picture today, that was really special. I got a card from my mom yesterday that I actually read this morning, thanks, Mom, that was really sweet. It was just really great that you thought of me and sent that out, I appreciate it.

Love to all of my kids and Raymond and the Coffey family and all of you out there. It really was a day that I had to work for the mileage, but got it done, it was really good, got in safely. Everything’s still going great with my bike, I just really thank the Lord. I thank all of you.

It was really pretty cool as we came into Mt. Pleasant, we got onto Broadway, which is kind of like their main street with lots of little shops. There was a bunch of us that stopped off at this one little restaurant café where you could sit outside, I got a sandwich and an ice cream and we just had a good time having some lunch together. Even at that we still got in at around 2 o’clock today, and the lunch was for an hour. I had a really strong ride today, riding more around 28 mph on average. My legs are definitely getting stronger and we don’t have to do as many climbs. But as I say, sometimes we have to get into the three Gs, which is the granny grind gear, pulling the triple Gs. That’s one of our expressions. I’ll give you another one tomorrow, I can’t think of it right now.

I’m having lots of fun with the people out here, moving along in Michigan. Happy trails to all of you. Tomorrow I’m not sure where we’re going, I haven’t been to rap yet. I’ll find out exactly where we’re going and how many miles it is. It’s somewhere in the 80s, I think, and we’re supposed to have a tailwind tomorrow, which would be really sweet if we did. I hope we do. God bless you all. Thank you so much for all your love and your following. I just hope that we all have a safe and good day tomorrow. God bless you and God bless America.